Intolerance, again: Rijiju, BJP MP attack martyr’s daughter

NEW DELHI: The slugfest over last week’s violence at DU’s Ramjas College has snowballed into another nationalist-versus-liberal confrontation, with Kargil martyr’s daughter and DU student Gurmehar Kaur coming under fierce attack from the saffron camp for her social media post condemning the “violence by ABVP” and an earlier post in which she said war, not Pakistan, had killed her father.
Comparing Kaur with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, BJP MP from Mysuru Pratap Simha tweeted on Monday, “At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father’s name to justify his anti-national stand”. Hours later, Union minister Kiren Rijiju waded in with a tweet suggesting Kaur was being influenced. “Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? A strong arm (sic) force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but aweak India was always invaded,” Rijiju tweeted, drawing sharp reactions from a section of the Twitterati that criticised him for undermining her freedom of expression.
Some even asked why he was questioning Gurmehar’s opinion endorsing peace between India and Pakistan, while being silent on ABVP's role in the student clashes at Ramjas College. Kaur got support from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for raising her voice against intolerance. Rahul’s office tweeted, “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur.”
Kaur’s father captain Mandeep Singh was killed in the 1999 Kargil conflict, when she was two years old. The Lady Shri Ram College student lodged a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday, alleging that she had been threatened with rape on social media. Rijiju later clarified he was merely referring to Gurmehar's social media post that shows her holding up a placard that reads “Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him”.
Reacting to a tweet asking if 20-year-old Gurmehar could not have a view without being hounded, Rijiju posted: “Everyone has right of views (sic) but she said Pakistan didn't kill our brave martyr and India should shun war. India never perpetrated violence”.
In fact, a battery of senior BJP leaders were in a combative mode refuting allegations of intolerance against the government and the BJP. Union I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu said while “dissent was agreeable, disintegration was not”. “Certain misguided sections are trying to mislead young population and create social tensions and hurt sentiments of the people of India. Having a different opinion apart from majority opinion is agreeable but not disintegration. Nobody can advocate disintegration,” he said. “How can anybody advocate azadi for J&K? You want to make universities labs for separatist experiments?” Naidu asked. He said, “ABVP is a nationalist organisation. Other organisations have different views, let them express it. Why should outsiders go and disturb peace of campuses?”
RSS’s student wing ABVP was accused of violence during a seminar on ‘Culture of Protests’ at Ramjas College last week, in which JNU student Umar Khalid was invited to speak. His name was later withdrawn.
On Monday, ABVP held a Tiranga rally on DU’s North Campus, protesting against the All India Students Association for raising shouting “anti-India slogans”. Home minister Rajnath Singh said he was in touch with Delhi Police over the situation arising out of the Ramjas College clash. He has asked police to act with caution and “practise restraint”.
Congress’s Manish Tewari slammed Rijiju for suggesting that Kaur’s mind was being polluted. “The gentleman shouldn't be in Parliament... it’s unfortunate, this emanates from the top, they feel by insulting martyrs’ families, they will get to Modi’s Cabinet.” Tewari said the assault on students and teachers by alleged ABVP activists at Ramjas College was part of a concerted effort by right-wing forces. “There is this pattern of intimidation and violence going on across the country... The time has come for all to come together and fight this relentless assault on the Indian democracy by elements of the Sangh Parivar,” Tewari said.
Meanwhile, former UPA minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lashed out at finance minister Arun Jaitley for calling the debate on intolerance in the wake of violence in DU as led by an “alliance of subversion”. "When Jaitley was president of DUSU in 1975, was he heading an 'alliance of subversion’?” Chidambaram tweeted.
The social media campaign against ABVP in the wake of Wednesday’s violence in Ramjas College has gone viral with students from different campuses changing their profile pictures on Instagram and Facebook. The campaign, “I’m Not Afraid of ABVP”, was initiated by Kaur.